All The aD Podcast
Fireworks are an oddity for dogs (and most animals). They’re loud, they’re booming, they light up the sky spontaneously and a lot of dogs are caught off guard by the noise and vibrations.
If your dog is frightened by loud noises such as fireworks, don’t panic! The good news is you know they are coming, so now is the time to prepare for them.
So just how can you help your dog through a night of fireworks? Here are our top tips!
Download the Taking the Fear Out of Fireworks eBook! It’s FREE!
Control the controllable!
You’ll be able to guide and help your dog through the fireworks season far more effectively by focusing on setting them up for success, rather than getting stressed, depressed or angry about the presence of fireworks in the world.
Guard your dog’s optimism!
Fireworks and loud noises are downright terrifying for ANY dog, even if they seem to be okay around loud noises right now. One negative experience is all they need for “okay” to become “worried”, “scared” or “totally terrified” so it’s important to not only grow your dog’s optimism and confidence through games, but it’s equally as important to fiercely guard their optimism by setting them up for success whenever fireworks or loud noises might be near. Some of our optimism-guarding tips are:
- Don’t take your dog for walks on evenings when you know fireworks might be around – go earlier in the day or simply play games at home instead!
- Give your dog a safe space like a covered crate or a dog-safe darkened room with closed curtains!
- Play loud music, white noise, radio or TV (some people even say drumming music is great to mask fireworks) – and ensure you also do this BEFORE the fireworks start to mask those loud noises and prevent your dog from hearing them as much as possible!
- It also helps to do lots of dry runs throughout the year and play your loud music randomly all year round to ditch that routine and stop your dog from predicting your “fireworks routine” and becoming worried anyway!
- Don’t give your dog access to doors or windows while fireworks are happening!
We’ve got SO MANY more tips for you in this epic episode so make sure you check it out – these are tips to make YOUR life and YOUR DOG’S life so much easier and more comfortable when it comes to Fireworks Season (and any other noisy, worrying times throughout the year)!
Dive in and take a listen – and while you’re here, leave a review for us and share with us what was your biggest takeaway!
